Into the Creations 262

Chapter 262 – 262. Doll Play

“Who is causing a disturbance in front of the shrine!”

I raised my head.

There was a woman with her hair tied up, wearing a white top and a red skirt, a traditional Japanese shrine maiden outfit. The woman was glaring down at us with her eyes wide open.

I glanced down. Looking closely at the halberd stuck in the ground, I realized it wasn’t the halberd I knew. The blade part was too thin to be called a halberd. It looked like a Japanese sword attached to a spear.

‘It was a Japanese weapon… I think it was called a naginata.’

I learned about weapon types in the Hunter Department. Hunters mainly use cold weapons.

White sword energy still clung to the blade. The woman who threw this was definitely a B-rank hunter or higher.

I withdrew my mana. The sparks that had been crackling from my fist disappeared.

“…Tch.”

The thug clicked his tongue and lowered his fighting stance. The flames that had been burning from his fist disappeared with the smoke.

The surroundings buzzed.

Before I knew it, people had gathered and were watching us.

Thud.

The shrine maiden in the sky lightly descended to the ground.

I reflexively checked her face and figure. She looked a bit masculine due to her angular jaw, and her chest was about an A-cup. She was definitely not my type of beauty.

“It is forbidden to cause a disturbance here.”

The shrine maiden said that and pulled out the naginata stuck in the ground.

The shrine maiden glanced at me and Jin Se-young, then looked at the thug. A sigh immediately escaped the shrine maiden’s lips.

“Haa. Nishioka Ken. Is it you again?”

“That bastard started it first.”

“That’s ridiculous. Do you know how many disturbances you’ve caused so far?”

“……”

“Today is the first day of the Wind Festival. It’s a very important day. Your rash actions could ruin the Wind Festival.”

“I didn’t mean to. If that guy hadn’t bumped my shoulder and walked past…!”

The thug pointed at me with his finger. I frowned and glared at him as if I would kill him.

“This bastard…!”

“Nishioka!”

“…Ugh.”

The thug flinched at the shrine maiden’s shout.

“Not only Japanese people but also foreigners have come to this festival. Moreover, foreign broadcasters are filming! If you cause trouble, it is Japan that will be disgraced!”

It seems like the disgrace has already happened.

I looked around. The people surrounding us were buzzing. Among them, many were filming us with their smartphones.

“……The incident has already occurred. I cannot let you go like this. Everyone, please follow me.”

That “everyone” included not only the thug and the gyaru but also me and Jin Se-young.

Jin Se-young, who didn’t understand Japanese, looked at me. She seemed curious about what the shrine maiden was saying.

“She’s telling us to follow her.”

“…Why? Nothing has happened yet.”

I had raised my mana, but I hadn’t fought. The shrine maiden had appeared before that.

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s going to make us pay a fine.”

I couldn’t be sure either. In Korea, this would end with a fine of at least 500,000 won, but this wasn’t Korea, it was Japan.

“That… were you Korean?”

The shrine maiden asked me in Japanese.

“Yes.”

“…Are you perhaps a guest with an invitation?”

“Yes.”

“…I’m sorry. Our guild member has caused trouble. May I see your invitation?”

The shrine maiden took the invitation from Jin Se-young and checked it. Then, she bowed to us once again and led us towards the shrine.

The guild the shrine maiden was talking about must be the Wind God Guild.

The Huka Shrine belongs to the Wind God Guild, one of Japan’s five major guilds.

‘That thug is a member of the Wind God Guild?’

One of the five major guilds. In other words, one of the most successful guilds in Japan. I didn’t know that thug would be a member of such a guild.

‘Are his parents executives of the Wind God Guild?’

While going up the stairs, I made eye contact with the thug. The thug distorted his face and growled silently.

I flipped him off and mouthed the words.

Fuck you.

***

We didn’t pay a fine but received a lecture from the shrine maiden. As guests, we only got a scolding, but the thug and the gyaru didn’t just get a lecture; they were punished.

Apparently, the thug and the gyaru had caused similar incidents several times. The thug and the gyaru were placed under house arrest. They were not allowed to leave the shrine.

In particular, the thug was not allowed to leave his room during the Wind Festival.

“I am very sorry to the guests who have come to the Huka Shrine. The Wind Festival is a very important event that the Japanese government is also paying attention to. Please understand with a generous heart.”

“Oh, no. It’s our fault. Even if the other party started it, we shouldn’t have fought…”

Jin Se-young waved her hands and said. I read the atmosphere and apologized vaguely.

“Thank you for understanding.”

The shrine maiden bowed and left the room.

Only Jin Se-young and I were left alone.

I approached Jin Se-young. I was planning to pounce on her before she started nagging. It was also a space where there were only two of us.

However, I had to stop because of the knock on the door.

“Is anyone there? My name is Kahara Shigeru. I would like to have a conversation with you two.”

I could see Jin Se-young’s face hardening.

I quietly asked her.

“What’s wrong? Do you know him?”

“…He’s the chief priest of the Huka Shrine and a member of the Japanese House of Councillors.”

A member of the Japanese House of Councillors meant he was a member of parliament. A politician.

I understood why Jin Se-young’s face had hardened. It was uncomfortable that a politician from another country, especially a Japanese politician, was coming to see us.

Jin Se-young hesitated and then gave me a look.

“…Please come in.”

I said, since I was good at Japanese. It looked like I was going to end up being a translator.

“Excuse me.”

The door opened, and Kahara Shigeru entered. He was a man wearing white traditional Japanese clothing.

“What business do you have with us, Mr. Kahara?”

I translated Jin Se-young’s words into Japanese as they were.

“I heard that you two are disciples of the Yeongcheon Style. Originally, we invited Master Jin Woo-sung, the founder of the Yeongcheon Style, but… it seems that Master Jin Woo-sung could not come due to circumstances.”

“Yes. We came to the Huka Shrine in place of our father.”

“Personally, it’s very disappointing. I personally respect Master Jin Woo-sung. Also, I wanted to see the ultimate techniques of the Yeongcheon Style even just once…”

Shigeru muttered and lamented.

The ultimate techniques of the Yeongcheon Style.

It was the pinnacle of the Yeongcheon Style techniques. In other words, it was the secret art.

I hadn’t learned the ultimate techniques of the Yeongcheon Style. It was because I was weak. Jin Se-young had learned one of the ultimate techniques, but it seemed she hadn’t mastered it completely.

“The winter at Huka Shrine is very beautiful. When I see the white snow piled up on the shrine, even my heart is bleached white…”

We continued our conversation with Shigeru for over 40 minutes. It wasn’t the main point but just meaningless words. The situation in Korea and Japan, the Huka Shrine, the Wind Festival, etc. Shigeru poured out words that we hadn’t even asked about.

And when we were mentally exhausted, he finally got to the point.

“The representative shrine maiden of the Huka Shrine must have a duel every day for the three days that the Wind Festival lasts. It is a duel offered to the gods.”

“Yes. I heard. Looking at the schedule, it’s scheduled for 8 PM today. I’m very much looking forward to it.”

“Yes. It can be said to be the flower of the Wind Festival. …But a difficult problem has arisen. The opponent for the duel on the second day was seriously injured during a dungeon raid and is hospitalized.”

Shigeru’s eyes shone sharply.

“…That’s really troublesome. Isn’t there another prepared duel opponent?”

“There was, but while raiding a dungeon with him, he…”

“……”

“I know it’s a shameless request. But if it’s not you, there’s no one else we can ask. For the sake of the Huka Shrine, for the sake of the tens of millions of people who are looking forward to the Wind Festival, would you be willing to be the opponent for the duel on the second day?”

Jin Se-young closed her mouth and pondered before speaking.

“…We are lacking in many ways to be a duel opponent. How about looking for other hunters instead of us?”

“It’s not difficult to find other hunters. But they don’t have legitimacy. You have the legitimacy of the Yeongcheon Style. The duel of the Wind Festival is a duel to offer to the gods. We cannot set up those without roots as duel opponents.”

Shigeru said firmly, as if there was no room for compromise.

“……”

Jin Se-young hesitated. She also knew. We were already cornered.

“Please, I beg you.”

Shigeru bowed his head and upper body towards us.

He put his head on the ground and touched the floor with both hands.

In Japan, this was called dogeza, and he did it to us without hesitation. In Japan, dogeza has a special meaning. Just doing dogeza is a great humiliation. Above all, Shigeru was a politician.

I frowned. Doing dogeza here? A politician? Isn’t that too much?

“…Okay. We will be the duel opponents on the second day, so please raise your head.”

Jin Se-young said with an uncomfortable face.

Shigeru quickly straightened his body as if he had expected it.

“Thank you. If there is anything you need for the duel, please tell us. I have things to prepare later… I’ll be going now. Oh, I’ll tell the shrine maidens so that you can stay at the shrine.”

He was about to leave quickly after saying what he had to say.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground shook. It was an earthquake. The earthquake lasted for about 2 seconds and then disappeared.

“It’s a light earthquake. It’s a common occurrence, so you don’t need to worry.”

After Shigeru left, only Jin Se-young and I were left in the room.

“Sis. This is nothing short of a trap.”

“…What can we do when he even did dogeza? If we back down here, our Yeongcheon Style will be ridiculed.”

That’s right.

If we refused, there would be an article tomorrow… no, around this afternoon. The member of the House of Councillors, Shigeru, even did dogeza for the Wind Festival and asked them, but the disciples of the Korean Yeongcheon Style refused because they were afraid of the duel.

Something like that. And this would be known not only in Japan and Korea but also internationally.

“This is a battle that has been started. As a member of the Yeongcheon Style, I cannot avoid it.”

Avoiding the battle.

With the name of the Yeongcheon Style on the line, that was impossible.

“If we fight, what are the chances of winning?”

“……”

Jin Se-young closed her mouth.

Jin Se-young was a B-rank hunter who was now preparing for the A-rank hunter exam. On the other hand, the duel opponent was an A-rank hunter called an S-rank candidate.

There was almost no chance of winning.

“That bastard is a despicable guy.”

In the end, Jin Se-young would lose the duel. This would surely be broadcast live all over Japan and the internet, and Japan would praise itself, saying that Japan was still Japan, and Korea would curse the Yeongcheon Style for losing to Japan. It was obvious without even looking.

We had become the victims of a show.

“But we can’t avoid a battle that has been started. Even if we lose… we shouldn’t run away.”

I stared at Jin Se-young’s determined face and said.

“I’ll go out for the duel. That guy didn’t say that you had to come out. I’m also a member of the Yeongcheon Style.”

What Shigeru had missed was my existence. He had continued the conversation with Jin Se-young, thinking that Jin Se-young would come out for the duel.

“No. I have to go. Even if I lose, I have to show the potential of the Yeongcheon Style.”

“Sis. Think realistically. You are the head of the Yeongcheon Sword Hall. You are an instructor of the Yeongcheon Style. On the other hand, I’m just a disciple. A mere E-rank hunter. It wouldn’t be strange if I lost in 1 second if I went out for the duel. If someone has a sane mind, they would think I’m pitiful, right?”

Jin Se-young thought quietly. And no matter how much she thought about it, she would realize that it was for the Yeongcheon Style that I should go out.

“…Are you sure? You could be ridiculed all over the world.”

“It’s okay. I don’t really care.”

I really didn’t care. After all, this would be forgotten after some time, and later, when I became stronger, I would remember all the bastards who ridiculed me and make them pay the price.

‘It’s actually a good thing for me. Through this duel, I might be able to get some of Amatsuka Koyori’s blood or hair. Hehehe. The woman who beat me is actually my sex doll?! Something like that is going to happen. Hehehe.’

I was even looking forward to tomorrow.

“Yujin… Thank you.”

“Sis. I’m also a member of the Yeongcheon Style. You don’t have to handle everything alone. You can rely on me.”

“……”

Jin Se-young’s eyes, looking at me, became moist. I grabbed her shoulders and slowly brought my face closer.

Jin Se-young, who realized what I wanted, closed her eyes.

Our lips met.

“Haa… Haaang! Aaaah!”

The room was soon filled with hot moans.